Attack of the clones / consumers

Rating: 6/10 (23 August 2005)

Michael Bay has spent more time of his life making commercials than other directors do in the beginning of their career, making him an expert in just that. Doing commercials teaches you a lot about shooting a scene in detail with some originality (Guy Ritchie comes to mind) and therefore his visual style is the best thing on offer in this action movie, here enhanced by an interesting screenplay, a good production design (Nigel Phelps) and nice cinematography (Mauro Fiore). And without Bruckheimer as producer he is willing to aim for something higher, not afraid to take a chance. It's a pity that this failed at the box office in the US (although it did a lot better in the rest of the world), as it is one of his best movies and it shows once again the unpredictability of the public. Lessons will be learned and next time he will surely make a dumb movie again.
The way the clones are kept on the facility is a mini-world in itself but also a commentary on the consumer society we have become, as the clones behave as consumers but also one level higher there are clients ordering them. (In this context it is rather clumsy to put in that many product placements.) As work and religion are used to keep the clones under control, the food scenes in the beginning serve as an indication of how humans become greedy and picky, using social behavior to get what they want (Jordan) , and also becoming investigative (Lincoln). With the lottery as indication of personal luck, but only a lie. The director of the facility sees himself as an earthy equivalent of God (and the bad guy an Englishman again, what have they done to deserve this?).
Time is taken to set out the story. When the action scenes follow, Bay knows where to place his always moving camera in a scene, in contrast to Rob Cohen for example. The POV is especially good in the car chase scenes with objects going right at the camera and in the skyscraper scene, where depth is put to good use. But it is sometimes a little too long and there is a tendency towards overkill; some rock music is used without any effort to check what songs would work. In more detailed shots of computers and handling of objects it resembles Minority Report. The futuristic city and post modern homes make it visually attractive to look at. Many of the perfectly framed and colored shots hint in the direction of that other Spielberg-movie, AI.
For once this movie is not too long, but too short. They could have elaborated on the start of the facility and on Sarah Jordan (obviously dead without touching that in the movie), because as she was severely ill that created the ethical dilemma the whole movie was about: Is cloning allowed for your own medical purposes? The movie makes a strong case for no, as even the former black liberty fighter joins the battle and McCord also helps out (with his death as a result).